Bedrock Spectrum
by AxleBoost
Summary: Centers around the exploits of Team MNLA, four teammates whose personalities and past experiences couldn't be more different, and who all bring a unique flavor to the world of Remnant. Watch as they learn and grow together, honing not only their skills, but also their ability to serve as Huntsman and Huntresses in a world quite literally plagued by darkness. (Rating may change)
1. Chapter 1

A crisp, cool breeze greeted the group of teenagers when they spilled out of a giant airship onto the academy docks. Overhead, the sun was partly eclipsed by clouds, leaving just enough light to remind them it was not quite evening yet. The class noisily followed the path laid out by their guide.

"This way, students," the guide called out. "Don't lag behind." She was a bespectacled blonde wearing a purple cape. Striding confidently along, she did not bother to check whether or not everyone was keeping up with her. Dozens of students shuffled along as they looked around at the docks and distant campus buildings. A few stragglers hurried to join the procession.

One student stood out among the crowd. Most appeared scared or uncertain, while others simply seemed bored. Not this boy, however. He smiled from ear to ear while holding a large, green yo-yo.

They finally left the docks and walked for what felt like an eternity. The group eventually reached a vast campus full of students like themselves. Tall buildings with sharp spires towered over the grounds. Their bold, darkly colored rooftops were tempered by softer grays, keeping the place from otherwise appearing dreary.

The students on campus were either practicing with weapons, carrying books, or talking as they walked to what the boy with the yo-yo assumed were their next classes. Minutes later, the group finally reached the main courtyard. A giant building temporarily diverted their attention from the person standing in the center of the courtyard. The silver-haired professor held a cup of tea in one hand. This man also wore glasses, like their guide.

"Hello," the professor began. His voice was steady and elegant, tinted lenses positioned perfectly on his face. "Welcome to Beacon Academy."

A mixture of reactions echoed through the crowd. Some whispered amongst themselves about how well the man had aged. He was obviously many years their senior, but looked no older than his late twenties. Other students felt underwhelmed, and openly doubted whether he was truly a Huntsman. The bespectacled guide accompanying the students held a finger to her lips, quieting them down.

The man sipped from his steaming cup of tea, then continued.

"You few standing before me today have proven yourselves skilled enough to enroll at this prestigious institution. Ordinarily I would receive you inside, but this year, I thought it might be nice to get some fresh air. My name is Professor Ozpin. I'm your headmaster."

The boy slowly zoned out while Ozpin explained how the students would be divided into teams, assuming they succeeded in tomorrow's challenge. Images of inhuman, black and white creatures known as Grimm consumed his thoughts. He continued to smile while the man spoke, the blonde guide standing close by his side.

_I'm gonna get to kill some Grimm,_ the boy thought to himself, trembling with enthusiasm.

Someone nearby distracted him from his daydream. A slightly shorter boy standing to his left wore a green tanktop and baggy pants. He had a head full of auburn hair, and two shiny green handguns attached at his hips. He looked extremely nervous, and kept shifting from foot to foot. In addition, the stranger had gills on the sides of his throat!

Fascinated, he surmised that this student must be a Faunus. He decided to slide over and speak to him. After all, maybe the guy was jumpy and closed off because he needed a friend. Running a hand through his blond hair, he took a breath and tried to put on his most inviting face.

"Hey," he said with a smile as he tapped the stranger's shoulder. "I'm Alabaster, and-"

Something cut Alabaster off mid-sentence. He briefly registered the boy's mouth opening before he was flung backwards. His body tumbled across the pavement, heavy like a rock. Stopping the momentum was impossible - almost as if he were being thrown by some invisible force.

All around him, other students sprawled in various directions, hitting the pavement noisily or skidding to a halt in battle poses. Alabaster rolled backward, landing on his face. Grateful that his aura sustained the damage, he pushed himself up to a standing position and dusted off his forest green jacket and white pants. A commotion rose as the crowd recovered. The boy he had approached was standing awkwardly in the center of the chaos with his arms crossed in a protective gesture.

"What the heck was that?!"

"Everyone okay?"

"That was weird."

"Ow! My shoulder."

"Just what IS that guy?"

Alabaster watched the boy grow more and more uncomfortable, until he finally turned and briskly walked away from the crowd. He felt a deep sense of sadness for the boy as many of the other students came back together, giving the reclusive Faunus a collective stare of mistrust. The guide named Glynda and Professor Ozpin tried their best to keep everyone calm, and reassured them that events would proceed as planned.

An urge to go after the Faunus boy overcame Alabaster. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him in pursuit. Glynda called out for him to stop, but he didn't care. He wanted to make amends for frightening the fellow student.

"Hey man, I didn't mean to-"

The boy swiveled on Alabaster, petulant and trembling as they locked eyes. "Why would you do that? Don't just sneak up on people."

"I wasn't trying to sneak. My bad. I only wanted to...to say hi."

The Faunus paused, considering his answer, then resumed his defiant posture and attitude. "Hi," he said with unnecessary emphasis, then stomped off again.

"Wait! What's your name? Was that thing back there all you?"

"...Newt. Yeah, that was my semblance." Newt sighed and continued on.

Alabaster frowned and watched the boy leave. He heard Glynda's heels click as she caught up to him**.** She asked him to return to the center of the courtyard with the rest of the students. Reluctant, he dropped his arms to his sides and followed Glynda's orders as she pursued the stray student.

He returned to the class without a word. Professor Ozpin had moved on to explaining the entrance exam. Unlike in previous semesters, new students would not be expected to enter the Emerald Forest. According to the professor, a squad of students destroyed a large section of the ruins near the forest in a previous class, so team exercises were moved elsewhere. The students would split into two smaller groups, and then be sent to either Beacon's perimeter, or Forever Fall. An assessment of their performance would determine their teams for the remainder of their time at Beacon.

"Yay!" A nearby girl shouted, wiggling with excitement. She frantically raised her hand. "Ooh, question! If we pass, we get special uniforms, right? I heard we get uniforms."

Ozpin nodded, eliciting a squeal from the girl. Alabaster shook his head and laughed at her reaction. Her ridiculously colorful outfit and bedazzled purse already made her stick out like a sore thumb, so the passionate commentary wasn't helping any. Al mentally noted that she was cute, but in a childishly innocent way.

Snapped out of his thoughts by Ozpin's instruction, he obediently fell into formation with the rest of the students and marched into the large building behind the headmaster. According to him, they were to rest here for the evening and await the next morning's challenges.

Alabaster's weapon, Rimorta, was cool to the touch. The familiar sensation of the yo-yo's sleek surface against his palm energized him. Once again, he found himself thinking hard about how he just couldn't wait to kill some Grimm.


	2. Chapter 2

Alabaster settled onto his cot provided by the school staff with a sigh of relief. He adjusted the stuffy-smelling pillow and draped a blanket over himself. It wasn't much, but Beacon had given the students _something_ to at least do the job for the night. That was good, because everyone would need their rest to perform well during the team assignment exercise. Al was so intent on passing the enrollment test, in fact, that he didn't notice he was the only one getting directly into bed until he heard noises from the other side of the room.

A few guys were roughhousing and laughing, while several bookworms and wallflowers either complained that they were too loud, or simply kept their distance. Either way, it was obvious that most students had slipped into their pajamas and set up their sleeping areas, but planned to stay up later. Glancing at his watch, Al saw that it wasn't quite so late yet. It was only a little past 6:00 PM. So he decided to stay up, too, and see what he could find.

No plan in mind whatsoever, Al wandered between the rows of sleeping bags. The girls and boys had mostly self-segregated. He found this interesting, and decided to look for someone who hadn't followed the crowd. After all, shaking things up kept life entertaining, in his opinion.

He stopped in his tracks when he spotted the Faunus from earlier, Newt, sitting up straight on his cot and wrapped snugly in a blanket. His cot was right beside a group of girls deeply absorbed in their own conversation. Though Alabaster couldn't be sure, it seemed like the fellow student was trying to lay low and get through the night without incident. Again, his heart went out to the guy. Being someone who was very social and never had this problem, it always took effort on Alabaster's part to consider the perspective of those who were not as confident.

Immediately inclined to approach Newt so he wouldn't feel like as much of an outcast, he closed the distance between them and waved. Before his hand was raised high enough to be seen, his stomach grumbled. He decided that conversation would have to wait. Things were moving so fast until now, he hadn't stopped to think about food!

"Shush, stomach," he said as he left the main room. He casually strolled along, investigating the branching off corridors. "Let's see if we can find you something tasty…"

His voice trailed off as he rounded a corner and saw another student standing in front of a vending machine. She was upset about something, and stomping her feet in frustration.

"Ugh, you stupid thing!" She cried out, kicking the machine.

Alabaster realized she was the same colorfully dressed girl from earlier. Her voice was so soft and sweet. Even while she shouted, she somehow maintained that same essence of goodness.

"I could help."

The girl turned to find the source of the voice, revealing striking, deep purple eyes that were so much bolder than her slim figure and gentle voice.

"Oh, hi! Didn't see you there. Silly me. You'd do that?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, no sweat."

Al took the girl's place in front of the vending machine, concentrated aura into his palms, and pressed against the machine in a quick, violent push that shook the girl's trapped snack bag free. Her chips fell to the bottom of the machine floor, and she eagerly retrieved them from the slot. He looked back to see she was beaming from ear to ear.

"Thank you! That was really cool and nice of y-..." The girl's voice trailed off and her cheeks reddened as he smiled back at her. He found her reaction strange, but chose to ignore this.

"Like I said, no sweat. I'm Alabaster. Al for short."

"Well...hello, 'Al.'" She slowly extended a hand, then put on a huge smile. "I'm Lace!"

Now that he was close to her, her fragrant scent hit him. She smelled like fresh flowers. They shook hands, and he felt the smoothness of her delicate hands, while simultaneously looking into her distractingly calming eyes. On one cheek, she bore an upside down teardrop tattoo.

"What's the story there?" Al probed, too curious to resist. He knew he had stared a second too long at the mark when Lace's face flushed with red again and she averted her gaze.

"Oh, t-this?" She pointed to the symbol with a shaky finger, then fumbled with her bag as it suddenly slipped off of her shoulder. He wondered why she was acting so nervous all of a sudden. "It's, um...nothing important, just a family thing!"

"Uh...okay." He watched as she put on what seemed to be a forced smile.

"Yup yup!" The girl's voice was uncharacteristically high pitched, even for someone as energetic as her. Al figured he hit a sore spot and moved on.

"So...they're not serving dinner?"

The girl took a minute to compose herself before answering him. "Dinner? I think I heard someone say it was delayed to an hour from now. I guess Professor Ozpin wasn't expecting so many of us to make it this far."

"Depressing," Al said with a huff, crossing his arms.

Just how selective was Beacon, anyway? He was told not to feel too broken up if he was denied the first time applying, but he made it in with no issues. Maybe he had just trained so much that it was easy? It was hard to tell.

"Sure is," the girl agreed, opening her bag of chips. "You want a chip?"

She held the bag close to Al so he could reach inside. A sharp, peppery fragrance wafted from the bag. Despite the pleasant smell, he shook his head.

"No. Thanks, though."

His stomach growled again, and the two students stared awkwardly at one another, until Lace finally laughed.

"Well, geez," Al complained. "An hour, huh? According to my tummy, I can't wait that long. I'll just have to get something small in the meantime." Lace waved a chip in his face, her eyes wide and lips curled into an enticing smile. He held up a hand. "I'd feel better if I didn't take what I haven't paid for."

She nodded, but seemed disappointed. "I understand, but I promise I don't mind if you have one!"

Lace was adamant about this for some reason. However, his mind was already made up. He declined, thanking her again for her generosity. This time, she backed down and pulled the bag from within his reach.

Perusing the options at the vending machine, Al eventually found a small pack of fruit chews to buy, and input the correct code after inserting his lien. The snack was deposited into the slot and he took it, eyes wide with anticipation. He turned and was surprised to find Lace still standing nearby, casually chewing as she leaned against the opposite wall.

"Oh, I thought you'd left."

Shrugging a shoulder, she said, "Nope. No point, since either way, dinner isn't ready."

"Gotcha. Well...I'm thinking about walking around to pass the time. You down to come with?"

She froze, caught off guard by the offer, but then enthusiastically nodded her head. Lace hopped into an upright position and walked gingerly down the hall with Alabaster. They headed for the main room in silence, both absorbed in their snacks. He matched her pace and popped a fruit chew into his mouth. She nibbled at a chip, then spoke.

"So why did you come to Beacon?" She asked, leaning in very animatedly to hear the answer. Her flowery scent enveloped him again.

"Why? Pretty much just because my guardian's a Huntsman, and I wanted to be badass like him."

She tilted her head. "Your guardian?"

"Yeah. Oh, my bad! I forgot to mention I'm adopted."

"Adopted? Wow. I don't think I've ever met someone who was adopted." Lace put a finger to her chin and eyed the ceiling thoughtfully, as if retracing every moment of her life to fact check her statement. "...Nnnnnnnope! Never."

"Well, now you have." Al noticed her subtly fidgeting with her blouse, like she couldn't get a crease out of the fabric. Why was she acting so odd? He could not pinpoint anything he had done to her, or said, that might be the cause.

"Lucky me," she said with a giggle. Al found himself smiling too. Her radiant, positive energy was infectious.

"You okay? You look a little...distracted."

Lace's cheeks flushed, and she waved his concern away. "I'm okay, really!"

"Alright," he said with an air of uncertainty, continuing on.

They walked between long rows of cots together, looking around at all of the different classmates they might be paired up with tomorrow. There must have been at least forty of them in total, if not more.

"Why'd 'you' want to attend Beacon, Lace?"

Lace paused. Al stopped walking, too. "Y'know, I never really thought too deeply into it, or at least I haven't in so long that my memory's gone fuzzy. I guess just to kill Grimm, instead of live being scared of them. You know?"

"That's a pretty sweet reason. Makes a lot of sense."

She blushed, smiling from ear to ear. "Thanks! Yours, too!" They continued on, Al's thoughts turning to the entrance examination.

"So, the way this goes is we take the field test, then after that, we're assigned teams at the initiation ceremony?" Al asked. "You look like the type who would've read that pamphlet they gave us." He snorted. "Unlike me."

Lace ate a few more chips as he spoke, and swallowed quickly to respond. "That's what it said. It's gonna be the coolest! I hope I get teamed up with someone who can fly!" She gasped, her imagination running wild. "Ooh! Maybe a faunus?!"

Al checked his scroll. "The info they pushed to our devices only says we're getting our partners tomorrow. All three team members. Wait…" He put the scroll away and stared at Lace. "Why does it matter if they can fly?"

She smirked and batted her eyelashes. "You'll see," Lace whispered ominously, prancing off in the direction of a girl calling out to her. She swiveled around and walked backwards, calling out, "It's someone I know. Go on, I'll come find you!"

Nodding, but still itching to know her secret, Al continued walking without Lace. Thinking back on her comment about Faunus made his mind wander to Newt. Hopefully, he had found a group to socialize with by now. Al met some cool guys along the way as he retraced his steps, and thought one in particular might be a potential good friend: a student named Reed.

A few girls noticed him, which he registered, and simply attributed to his unique hair. Bleached ends weren't very common in this area, after all. Given time, the excitement would soon die down. He was used to this kind of attention by now.

When Al made it back to his row of cots, he looked across to where Newt was to find the Faunus boy still sitting in silence, although now he was looking down at his sandals and no longer buried in a blanket. In a way, Al figured, this was progress. Still, it wasn't very fair for Newt to have to sit there alone while others talked. A few whispered words about Newt caught his attention, and he gasped.

Two girls were discussing the event from earlier when Newt used his semblance.

"Who's that weirdo anyway?"

Another group had even more to say.

"What is he?"

"That dude hurt my shoulder! Took a while to heal, even with my aura."

"I hope he doesn't make it past tomorrow, or at least doesn't get put on my team."

"Look at him - he's not even all that strong, I bet."

Did they really all still hold the incident in the courtyard against him? Al was dumbfounded. How petty could people be?

Amidst the background noise of quiet taunts and speculation, Al walked over to the boy, who sat facing away from him. Newt wore soft blue pajamas. There was no telling why he refused to lose the sandals and get comfortable. Al took care to walk loudly enough that his approach wouldn't be a surprise. He didn't want to trigger whatever ability Newt used before.

"Newt?"

Newt shifted where he sat, but stayed silent. Just as Al was about to back off, he said something.

"You're him, from before."

"Yeah!" Alabaster said with a smile. "Hey again. I'm uh...here to make amends for earlier."

Newt curled his knees up to his chin. "It's okay."

"I'm Alabaster. I was wondering if you want to hang out."

"Why?"

Al stood stock still, stunned by the blunt, hopeless sounding reply. He had never heard something that made him feel so sad before. Suddenly aware of eyes on him, he looked around. The amount of attention he'd drawn by approaching Newt was considerable.

"They're all watching, you know."

"Let them," Al said. Newt gasped, finally turning to look at him. "I'm just talking to my new buddy, right?" He placed a hand on Newt's shoulder from behind, trying to show goodwill.

The stares began to die down. Clearly, there was collective disappointment in the room when no random explosion happened this time.

'How childish,' Al thought to himself. Thankfully, not everyone he might end up on a team with was feeding off of this drama, but he still wasn't happy about the judgmental vibe coming from those who did look.

Newt's face tensed up and he trembled where he sat. Then the Faunus nodded, apparently coming to terms with whatever he was debating about in his head. He slowly got to his feet and walked around the cot between them so they could communicate face to face.

"Apology accepted."

"Great. So, you do want to hang out?"

Newt drew into himself, and meekly nodded. Al could see he was trying, and did not press the issue. "Okay, come on!"

They walked away together, receiving more stares and whispers.

"I'll introduce you to my other friend I just made,"Al said. He stopped walking when he realized Newt was no longer beside him. "Huh?"

The boy was standing half a pace behind him, a weak smile on his face as Alabaster looked at him. He held out his scroll, contact list on display with a space for Al to enter his number. Pleased that he had gotten through to Newt, Al happily exchanged numbers. When they were almost reunited with Lace, Newt was still smiling for some reason.

"Why are you in such high spirits all of a sudden, man?"

Newt mumbled, shrinking further into himself.

"What was that?" Alabaster leaned in closer to hear Newt's softly uttered words.

"You're...my first friend."


	3. Chapter 3

Lace eagerly embraced her old acquaintance.

"Hey, Lace," Tiffany said with a smile. "Who would've thought we'd see each other again here?"

The hug was brief; just long enough to convey a positive relationship, but not as long as she'd give to a best friend. In fact, Lace realized as she reflected, she and Tiffany barely spoke back at Wex Academy. Perhaps they were just pleased to see someone they knew in a large class of incoming students.

"Hey Tiff! I didn't know you were accepted, too."

"Yeah," Tiffany said, glancing sideways as she continued. "But Fuschia didn't get in. She still calls me to complain about it. It's real sad, you know? She wanted to get into Beacon more than anyone back home."

"Oh...that's just the worst," Lace said with a frown. "Well, let's make sure we get through the initiation test for her, right?"

A shiver ran down Lace's spine when the gravity of her own words hit her. The initiation test was fast approaching! Her chest tightened and breathing became less automatic. Until now, she'd just gone with the flow and stayed positive. In fact, she hadn't so much as toyed with the idea that failing was a possibility, but now...

"Yeah, you're right. Go team." Tiffany spoke in a monotone voice, but threw up a closed fist for the sake of morale. Lace laughed, pointing a finger. Still, the tightness in her chest persisted. She hoped Tiffany couldn't tell.

"You don't have to be so sarcastic, Tiff! I'm trying to stay positive for Fuschia here."

"I know." Lace picked up on a slight voice crack as Tiffany spoke. Was she nervous, too? "Really, I'll try for her. It's just...to be honest, I don't even know if I should've come. I'm not all that strong."

"Oh, don't say that!" Lace shook her head. "We're all here because the Headmaster saw something in us. You're not weak at all."

Tiffany narrowed her eyes, one hand on her hip. "Thanks, Lace, but come on. My semblance is 'literally' the most useless thing on the planet."

"No, no, I'm sure that it's not THE worst. What about, um...um…" Struggling to find an example, she gave the cynical girl a nervous smile. "Okay yeah, I see your point."

"That's what I thought," Tiffany huffed.

"So anyway, uh…" Lace giggled, trying to smoothly change the subject. "Have you seen anyone else from Wex who made it in?"

"Uh, yeah, actually. Russo was running around here somewhere earlier, complaining about forgetting her travel bag on the airship. Heh, always such a spazz. And I think I saw Olive, Sable and Pod hanging out over that way." Lace followed the path of Tiffany's outstretched arm with her eyes.

"Oh! I think I see Pod. Wow, all three of them really made it to Beacon together."

"They said they would. Nobody believed'em." Tiffany shook her head. "Gotta admit, I didn't."

"You never know, I guess."

"Yup. No kidding. So, who was the hottie I saw you with earlier?" She nudged Lace in the side, causing her to blush profusely and throw up her hands.

"Hm? You mean Al? He's nobody, really! Just a nice guy I met who helped me get my chips out of the vending machine." Beads of sweat trailed down the back of her neck as she spoke. "We were just, um...talking."

"Talking?" Tiffany said with a raised brow.

"Yeah!" Lace's exaggerated smile threatened to split her lips apart. Tiffany was clearly unconvinced, but let it go.

"Sure. Anyway, I gotta get back to unpacking before they serve dinner. See ya around, Fairy."

Lace shook her head at the familiar nickname, watching Tiffany walk to a spot one row away. Here Lace was, finally about to take her first step toward real Huntress training. Yet with one conversation, she found herself mentally rewinding to her time at Wex.

"Seems like I won't be outgrowing that," she thought aloud. Nostalgic though it was, she hadn't expected the name to follow her into her Beacon years. Lace shrugged and walked away, instantly remembering that she promised Alabaster to meet up with him. He couldn't have wandered too far in this short of a time, and there weren't many places to hide in such a big, open space. Where should she start?

Walking purposefully between rows of cots, she easily found Alabaster. He was with a boy she didn't know. The other boy's fiery red hair and almost matching skin were all she could focus on at first. Al seemed absorbed in their conversation, so she suspected that this other student was a friend of his. What should she say? Would he mind her interrupting? Actually, why was she suddenly so concerned about her actions? She had never spent this much time overthinking things before.

"Ah, let what happens happen!" Lace whispered with conviction, marching confidently over to her new friend and the redheaded boy. She ignored a faint pounding in her chest and approached them from behind. "Hey, Al!"

Both boys turned to her mid-conversation with curiosity. Al's face lit up, while the other boy instantly averted his gaze. Was she really that intimidating?

"Oh, Lace. Guess you found me." Al indicated the boy beside him and explained, "I made a new pal while you were gone. This is Newt!"

"H-hi," Newt said softly, acknowledging Alabaster's introduction with a subtle wave. Lace noted his slim, lanky frame, and wondered whether he was a long range fighter, like her.

"Hi there!" She smiled, extending a hand to Newt, who seemed unsure about whether to reciprocate the gesture. His eyes flitted from her to the floor and back again. Notably, his breathing was slightly labored, for some reason. "Promise I don't bite."

Eager to move things along, Al urged Newt forward, and he awkwardly returned Lace's handshake. His hand was cold and clammy to the touch, but unexpectedly firm. Clearly, he was much stronger than he appeared.

"I'm Lace Melrose, from Wex Academy. Where did you fly in from?"

Newt stepped back and muttered something incomprehensible. Al shrugged apologetically, saying, "Most I could get out of him was that he's a Faunus from outside the kingdoms. Anyway, I've been talking to him about his weapon - the only thing he's opened up about so far."

"WeaPONS," Newt corrected, his brow deeply furrowed.

Well, Al was right after all - this really was the way to get Newt to speak. So Lace decided to push her luck.

"What are they?" she asked.

His posture loosened almost immediately: his hunched shoulders slackened, his stance became more open, and he made more frequent eye contact. 'I must be doing something right!' she thought with excitement.

Newt did not answer her question right away. After a brief internal struggle, he cleared his throat and said, "Dual handguns." A glint in his eyes seemed to demand attention while he spoke. "I always keep them clean. I haven't been away from them this long before."

A tinge of sadness lingered in his voice, prompting her to dig deeper.

"Why do you always need them with you, Newt?"

"B-because...they make me feel safe." He folded his lips and drew into himself.

"Well, we're here with you," Al jumped in. "The headmaster may have made us put away our weapons for now, but until tomorrow comes and you can get them back, just hang with us!"

"Yeah," Lace agreed. "Nothing bad will happen to you! We're your friends now, okay?"

Newt frowned, saying nothing. He only gave a half-hearted nod and turned away, hands buried in his pockets. Lace and Al looked at one another, eyebrows raised.

"You're a quiet one, I get that," Al said, patting Newt on the shoulder. "That's okay. I've been told I talk too much sometimes, so we'll make great friends!" He laughed, managing to get the faintest impression of a smile out of the timid Faunus.

"Are those gills?" Lace asked, seeing one side of Newt's neck exposed as he turned. This seemed to upset him, and he covered them as best he could with his hands. "No, it's okay! Really. I wasn't going to make fun of you or anything."

"R...really?" Newt slowly lowered his hands as she nodded. His trembling legs gave away just how vulnerable he was feeling, and Lace's heart hurt for him. Had he really experienced such terrible treatment that he was this jumpy over small things?

"I promise."

Al seconded Lace's words, and after some deliberation, Newt nodded. "Okay," he said.

"Great!" Without warning, she lunged and hugged him. His face reddened immediately, and Alabaster adopted a defensive stance, likely expecting a sonic blast that never came.

Seeing Al's defensive posture, Newt chuckled. "Don't worry. It doesn't always happen, and I saw her coming, so that prepared me."

"Oh. Alright." Al grinned sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his head, not returning Lace's eye contact as she let go of Newt.

Somewhere close by, a bell chimed. Every student's head craned in the direction of the sound. Professors stood in each of the surrounding doorways, and one of them, the woman named Glynda, shouted, "Follow the Professor holding the sign with the letter that matches your first initial! We will serve you in smaller groups, and then seat you all together. Professor Ozpin sends his apologies: we weren't expecting such a large incoming class."

Alabaster shrugged. "Guess that means I'm up first. So much for hanging out, huh?"

"We'll find you later," Lace reassured Al, patting his shoulder. "Newt and I are in the same group, anyway."

"Cool. I'll save you two seats."

Just like that, Al was gone, leaving the two alone. Lace smiled, beckoning for Newt to follow her.

"We're with Professor Goodwitch, so come on! Wouldn't want to miss out on all the good food."

She dragged him along, barely making it to the front of the line before many other students flooded into Glynda's section.

"Just in time," Newt observed. He was less jumpy now; that was good.

Lace nodded. "Yeah! Hope you're hungry, because I've heard the food here's scrumptious!"

"I'll settle for anything...that doesn't taste like sand," Newt whispered, barely audible. Her ears must have deceived her, Lace thought to herself.

"What do ya mean by 'that,' Newt?"

"Never mind."

He shook his head, then walked off as Glynda led the group through a doorway and down a wide corridor. Confused, Lace hurried after him. Newt was obviously troubled, so she had to try to help somehow. His hands were shaking now and his legs appeared stiff, struggling to move him along. What was the deal with him? Lace vowed to get to the bottom of the mystery once they met up with Alabaster.


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you mean you SWAM here?"

Al gawked at the absurdity of Newt's words.

Swallowing a mouthful of food, Newt turned to his new friend and gave a curt nod. The Faunus boy's eyes did not waver. This must have convinced Alabaster that Newt was being honest, because he simply said, "Wow, dope," and returned to his meal.

"You really did that?" Lace asked in disbelief. "Without any sort of flight semblance or wings?"

A few students at a table across from theirs overheard. One boy chimed in with, "Swimming from Menagerie to Beacon? Nah, I gotta call bull on that." This elicited several laughs from his peers, both at his own table and at a couple of the others stretching across the large cafeteria.

"Hey!" Lace called back, then turned to Newt with a frown and softly added, "He doesn't seem like the lying type…."

Yes, Newt knew his declaration was hard to believe, but he had given Lace and Alabaster no reason to doubt him thus far. He was also much too socially awkward to bother with spinning tales. Speaking was enough of a challenge on its own.

"Yeah, well...it does sound crazy. I've just always been a great swimmer. Don't care for it though."

Newt speared a potato cube as more laughter echoed from the table across the room.

"Don't listen to those guys," Lace said, placing a hand on the back of Newt's green tanktop. He could feel that sweat had begun to soak through the fabric, which embarrassed him. She had to have noticed it, too, but she didn't pull away.

"I believe you."

"Y-you do?"

Alabaster finished biting a chunk of an apple, and reeled his arm back to throw it at the teasing students. Lace locked eyes with him and shook her head in warning. Then Al paused and apparently thought better of it, setting the apple down on his tray again.

"Yeah, man," he said. "We both trust you. Just like we told you, we're your friends now."

Newt nodded his thanks, quietly eating while Lace made conversation. Within the first few minutes of dinner, it was clear to Newt that where he provided a level of quiet intensity and thoughtfulness to the atmosphere, Lace was the opposite. She launched into a lengthy and impassioned discussion about wages of Vytal Festival tournament workers while he sat and tried to act within social norms. Surely, he told himself, his awkwardness was going to ruin the vibe. Probably best to just let the others do most of the talking.

"All I'm saying is that I've heard they don't get paid nearly enough, but they're asked to work the stands and clean the entire colosseum anyway!"

"Well," Al began, slurping down a box of juice between words, "those things are only held every so often."

"Every two years, Al."

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm just saying that since it only comes up once every couple years, nobody's cared enough to fight them on it, so they just keep underpaying."

Newt nodded, finishing the potatoes and moving on to the next area of his tray in a methodical fashion. "Probably."

Lace frowned, her brow furrowed. "Still. That's so...cruel."

"Most humans are," Newt retorted without thinking. Lace and Al's heads snapped in his direction in surprise. He knew it must have been odd to witness him saying more than a few words, for once. Even he didn't know what came over him: his mouth just moved.

"At least, that's what I always thought. I grew up around other Faunus, and any humans I met weren't very kind. You two are the first I've met who treated me like a person." His hands trembled as old, painful memories surfaced.

An unexpected hug threatened to suffocate Newt as Lace embraced him, somehow tuned into his distress. He froze, waiting for her to break away and give him space. While Newt didn't exactly feel comfortable with her touchy-feely attitude, it admittedly did calm him. When she finally let go, he sighed with relief.

His negative response must have been very evident, because Lace laughed softly and said, "Oh, sorry about that. I'm a hugger."

"Noted," Newt replied, nervously eyeing his new friend. She was going to take some getting used to, but she seemed nice enough.

A hand tapped Newt's shoulder. He turned to see Alabaster smiling at him.

"Hey, I know humans can do some pretty messed up stuff to each other, and especially to Faunus, but don't worry. It won't be that way with us. We'll work together with you, man, so we can all become strong Huntsmen!"

"And HunTRESSES, thank you," Lace corrected, holding up a finger.

"R-right, sorry," Al said, laughing it off. "You know what I meant."

"We've all gotta make it past tomorrow before we can even think about that," an unfamiliar student's voice said, drawing their attention.

Someone was coming their way. Newt spotted a shaggy-haired boy approaching the opposite side of the table, willing himself not to make it a big deal. A girl at the new guy's side settled in next to him.

This was bad. One or two people were fine, but now this boy and a friend of his were joining the party. Of course, other students were seated here and there at the many long tables, but for the most part, people at their table had stayed to themselves. Newt appreciated this, because it kept him from feeling overwhelmed.

So much for that.

"Hey, Lace," the new girl said, scooting forward to rest her arms on the sides of her tray.

"Tiffany!" Lace exclaimed, excited at the mere sight of this girl. She turned to the boy. "Hey Sable, I heard from Tiff that you got in."

"Yeah," the student Newt now knew as Sable said. "Wex wrecks, huh?"

Newt observed Sable as he and Lace high fived in an unusual, ritualistic way. They ended their strange string of seemingly random, perfectly mirrored hand gestures by splaying their fingers as they pulled away from each other, like they were imitating an explosion. The two students were smiling as if they just shared some kind of inside joke. He must have gone to the same school she did, Newt surmised. Sable's thick, chocolate brown mat of hair framed a pair of ocean blue eyes that shimmered like crystals. Newt wondered if this strange effect had to do with the boy's semblance.

Cutting off Newt's stream of thoughts, Sable waved to the two students on either side of Lace. "Hi there."

"Oh! My mistake!" Lace flushed with red and slapped her hands against her face. "Introductions! Sable, Tiffany, meet Alabaster Celadon, and this is Newt Luster." She indicated them with dramatic flourishes. "They're a couple new friends I made before dinner."

Newt nodded in response. He hoped the boy wouldn't strike up a conversation with him, and would just stick to talking to Lace. Alabaster, however, immediately leaned in to shake hands.

"Yo," Al said, giving Sable and Tiffany firm handshakes. "What's going on?"

Newt nervously copied Al's handshake, hoping he pulled it off well. Then he began eating the casserole on his tray.

"That looks very good," Tiffany remarked to Newt. He took a moment to look up, not having realized she was speaking to him. She appeared ready to jump across the table, her eyes practically glued to his half-eaten casserole. "What is it? They didn't have any of that when we were in line."

Talking so much during meals never made sense to Newt. Why didn't people just eat? He'd never had the luxury of chatting the day away back home. Every meal was about survival. The humans here, and even some of the Faunus, needed a reality check. Taking a breath to calm down, he tried to look past his initial irritation. Differences in he and the other students' upbringings aside, it was probably mostly his nerves that were getting to him due to meeting several new people.

"Last of the three noodle casserole," Newt explained to Tiffany after swallowing a mouthful of food.

"Ah, lucky," Tiffany remarked, resting one cheek on her open palm.

"Anyway," Lace said, "where are Pod, Russo, and Olive? They're here too somewhere, but..."

'Great,' Newt thought. 'Even MORE people.'

"Olive and Russo sat with a few friends of theirs from Signal," Sable said. "They haven't seen each other in years."

Newt let out an audible sigh of relief that, thankfully, went unnoticed.

Lace's response to Sable was drowned out as Newt's focus on the conversation began to wane. He was utterly lost, so he mentally checked out and focused on his meal instead of trying to comprehend anything more. When he tuned back in a couple of minutes later, they were talking about the student named 'Pod' whom he had never met. Just his luck that he'd snapped out of his daze too early.

Tiffany rolled her eyes. "Pod's hopeless. He's already at some random girl's table trying to flirt. I mean, really. We aren't even fully initiated yet! What if they hit it off and she doesn't even pass tomorrow?" She sighed, shaking her head. Lace giggled at Tiffany's reaction. "What's got you so amused, Lace?"

Sable laughed, too, answering the question in Lace's stead. "You just gotta try to have a little more faith, and chill out, Tiff."

"Yeah? Well, I will once tomorrow's past me. 'Kay?"

Sable narrowed his sparkling eyes at her as he ate. "'Kay," he parroted sarcastically, continuing to devour his tray of food.

"One thing I'm wondering," Al said, "is how hard tomorrow's test is gonna be."

A new student's voice entered the conversation.

"Me too! Any of you guys know what we'll be doing at the two locations?"

No one in their small group knew the answer - only what Ozpin shared earlier in the day. The other students around them were just as clueless. The room buzzed with discussion as a ripple of curiosity and tension washed over everyone. No matter what they'd been discussing before, the new entrants's worries could only be hidden by pointless small talk for so long. Now, everyone was finally addressing the collective elephant Faunus in the room...and it only brought them dread. Having come this far, losing it all was still a possibility, and with no knowledge of what was next, how could they prepare?

Newt finished his food much more quickly than the others due to not talking as much. Some time during dinner, a few more students Al had befriended stopped by to talk. When Newt finally felt too drained to take the socialization anymore, he excused himself from the table and headed off to bed. He didn't want tomorrow to come any faster, but sitting up talking about it wouldn't change a thing. He was scared, but worrying was his default state, so it didn't hit him as hard as the others. Just before sleep eventually took him, his last thought was wondering whether or not his choice to leave the Roamers had been the right one.

The test took place the following night. Newt used the unexpected free time given to the incoming class to familiarize himself with Beacon Academy's large campus. The grandiose buildings, statue in the courtyard depicting times of war, and flags waving in the breeze made him feel like he was in a totally different world, to say nothing of the polished interior walls and floors, and immense library. Even the lecture halls, while they felt and appeared aged, still held a certain charm. This place was nothing like the craggy, arid wastelands that were pretty much all he knew up until now. Newt was part of something bigger, and he could only hope that was a good thing.

Cool drafts of air swept through the courtyard. Newt walked calmly toward his destination, weapons finally in hand, watching other students slowly trickle in from different directions. Tonight was the night: he was assigned to the Perimeter Group. The Forever Fall Group was called away an hour or two earlier, and still had not returned. Newt had no idea what to expect. He only knew that his instructions were to be at the specified location by nightfall.

Ozpin watched the students assemble by the perimeter in silence, then nodded at the Atlesian soldiers standing guard when he was sure they were all present. He left the care of the students to them, departing without a word. A few mindless Atlesian robots stood in formation across the perimeter. Newt gazed at them in awe. He'd never seen this kind of technology before. Was this really how all humans inside the kingdoms lived? He wasn't sure how much the other students knew about this, but he was dying to find out more!

A soldier blew a whistle, prompting the students to stand tall and quiet down. Sweat dripped down Newt's neck, but he simply let it fall. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to himself trying to wipe it away. Lace and Alabaster were just a row ahead. Besides his new friends, about twenty other students were in attendance. He knew they must have been nervous, too, but as usual, his irrationally anxious mind was on fire concocting ways to convince him that he was the most foolish looking and frightened among the bunch.

"Students," one soldier said gruffly as he marched through the rows, "Listen up. You're here today to be our backup. There have been spikes in Grimm activity 'round here lately. Lucky for us, we've got you to help clear'em out."

"That's it?"

A voice Newt didn't recognize. Soft, and male.

The soldier flinched. "Yes sir, that's correct. Would you like us to ask a Grimm to bring more of its pals our way?"

Laughter burst from the crowd. Newt remained expressionless.

"Well, not really, but we could take them too if we had to," replied the soft-voiced student, prompting a stern look from the soldier.

"Pod!" Tiffany called out from the crowd.

"Sor-ree, okay? Gosh." 'Pod' again. He seemed a little cocky. Newt was just glad not to be in the spotlight, so he welcomed the kid making such a scene.

"Don't apologize to me or your friend there," the soldier said. "Apologize to the Grimm when you're staring into the mouth of one tonight, all because you bit off more than you could chew."

The soldier brusquely turned away and marched past Pod, letting the impact of his words sink in.

"Oh, and Ozpin's told us one of you is going to arrive late. You'll get your teams after this, and whoever is short a member will be welcoming the new arrival to their team. Finally, we-"

A single, bright streak from a white laser hit something in the distance. The target growled and disappeared, the shooter's gun still trained on the darkness beyond. Newt turned to see an Atlesian robot had fired, detecting an immediate threat. The Grimm were here.

"You're up, kids!" cried the soldier as he reached for his weapon. "On my signal…"

Newt swept both revolvers up into his hands in one swift motion. Talking to people may have been hard and nerve-wracking, but fighting was another story. Duodeline felt light in his hands, but he knew the guns were loaded. His body itched to charge toward the oncoming Grimm. However, he knew that wouldn't be smart. The students took up various positions on the field. Like him, Newt guessed, they were trying to find the best place to set up for using their individual abilities before the Grimm were in range.

Alabaster slid next to him, looking more serious than before. Lace followed.

"You good, Newt?" Al asked.

"Yeah. Thanks for checking."

"Show us your sharpshooting ways." Al danced rhythmically from foot to foot as he spoke, getting a mere nod and no further reaction from Newt. So much for seriousness, Newt thought to himself.

"Remember what we said," Lace chimed in with a smile, bubbly as ever. "Work together!"

"Right." Newt nodded.

The three of them took stances, waiting for a signal. Newt trembled with the thrilling anticipation of combat. The Atlesian soldier gave the command to attack, and the battlefield came alive with the sound of gunfire and the frenzied movement of bodies.

Newt, Alabaster, and Lace fanned out across the grass. Here was where the fun began.


	5. Chapter 5

"Flank left!"

One of the Atlesian soldiers hoarsely shouted orders in the midst of the chaos.

They hadn't prepared for this level of a threat. The situation was looking pretty bleak, and only grew worse by the second.

Gunfire and projectiles of many different kinds buzzed across the battlefield like insects. Alabaster crouched and darted to the side to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Then he made his way around a cluster of trees, approaching one of the Grimm that reached the perimeter. The fact that the creature had made it this far without dying was certainly impressive. He needed to help kill it here, before it could harm anyone else.

The Beowolf's dark tufts of fur were covered in a black mist, which hung around its body like a specter. Its growl, animalistic and raw, was, sadly, all too familiar. His eyes locked onto a girl crawling away in front of the enraged Beowolf. Al leapt into the monster's path of attack.

Just as the Grimm's sharp claw came sailing toward him, Al rolled away, but not before unveiling his yo-yo and jamming the body of it into the ground. The blow still grazed him, but as he planned, the yo-yo's reel coiled around the Beowolf's claw when he was knocked back. Fortunately, his aura shielded him from any fatal damage. He skidded backward, digging a foot into the grass to slow his movement.

Dirt and dust flew everywhere as Al yanked on the yo-yo, pulling it taut. The spot in the dirt where he'd embedded Rimorta, with its blades extended for extra traction, spewed rocks and debris upon activation of the weapon's spinning mechanism. Still, Rimorta stayed snugly buried. A roar escaped the Beowolf when the yo-yo's reel constricted around its outstretched arm, forcing it lower to the ground.

"Trapped it!" Al called out into the night sky.

He searched the trees, growing doubtful. Where were they?

A violent tug of the reel threatened to make Alabaster lose his grip, but the girl he saved appeared at his side, helping him to pull against the Grimm and keep it pinned. Then, he saw it: a faint glimmer of moonlight reflecting off of something in the trees. Al smirked as he watched Newt fire two shots from atop a tree branch, which ricocheted against other trees before finding a home in the creature's legs. Both legs buckled and it almost went down, but somehow managed to recover just in time.

Al's vision was clouded by bright blue flakes of light falling from the sky. Lace flew gracefully overhead, energy-based wings protruding from her back. The flakes of light trailed behind her in breathtaking cascades of color. She twirled through the air like an acrobat, kicking the Grimm's head as she flew past, then added a flap of both wings for good measure.

A powerful gust of wind propelled by Lace's wings buffeted the Grimm. The Beowolf may have been aggressive, but it did not have the strength of an Alpha. The creature fell onto the cool grass under the weight of the overpowering gust before suddenly being blasted to oblivion by one of the Atlesian robots.

Al pumped a fist and smiled. "We did it!"

The Beowolf's body slowly disintegrated, freeing Rimorta from its entanglement.

Newt leapt down out of the cover of the trees and pointed. "There."

Lace followed his line of sight and gasped, then flew toward a newly emerging cluster of Grimm. Al knew simply by looking that the mob was too dense to be handled by the Atlesian guards. So he ran after her, followed by Newt and several other students. The students and soldiers were spread thin, and would have to find a way to reverse the situation before anyone depleted their aura or the perimeter was breached.

"Where are they all coming from?!" A soldier asked no one in particular.

"Someone call for backup!"

"We need help over here, too," a younger voice pleaded.

Without a doubt, the voice must have belonged to a fellow student. Newt and Al locked eyes briefly, nodding to signal they understood what needed to happen. While Newt peeled off to help the other students, Al and Lace moved in on the small horde trying to break through on the opposite side of the field. This was going to be a long night.

Several hacks, slashes, and gunshots later, a pile of Grimm lay at the students and soldiers' feet, slowly dissolving into a thick cloud of the familiar black mist. Gasping for breath, Al looked down at his slightly dulled katana. He never got used to fact that no matter how many Grimm he defeated, there was no blood left behind. No trace of carnage. It made all of the killing seem meaningless, and something about that felt so...wrong.

A sudden burst of air from another section of the battlefield blew the black mist away and caught everyone's attention. They all turned to see Newt firing on a couple of Alpha Creeps. While smaller and more manageable than the Beowolves, they were still an issue due to their compact bodies and hard skeletal layer, particularly in the spinal region. Newt and the others couldn't get to the weak spots on these Grimm, so one of the students had started throwing raw wind dust crystals through the air for Newt to blast apart, the resultant explosions knocking the enemies off balance.

His katana at the ready, Al rushed in to slash the underbelly of one of the Grimm. He tapped a small depressed button on his sword hilt, activating dual edged mode. Swinging the weapon madly in circles, he carved up several Grimm that tried to intercept, then directed a swift slash at the Alpha Creep he originally targeted. His strike cut deeply, but it didn't kill the beast. Al could tell it was about to make him regret that.

Rolling onto all fours with a wail of mixed anger and pain, the creature lunged. Newt tried to hit it with another wind blast, but narrowly missed his window of opportunity. Without a second thought, Al reverted his katana back to normal and reached into a jacket pocket for dust...

His fingers never made it to the crystals.

Instead, thin ropes of some kind enveloped Al's waist and jerked him out of range just in time. The instant he was clear of the area, the girl he had saved earlier came crashing down on the Creep, leaving a small crater in her wake.

"Whoa," Al said, eyes wide.

Lace retracted the cords wrapped around him and they receded into tiny slots along the top of her bedazzled bracelets.

"Yeah!" Lace agreed. "Whoever that girl is, she's a big help out here."

He glanced back toward Lace, who was standing with a couple of other students and an Atlesian soldier.

"Speaking of help, thanks for the save."

Lace beamed like a child being praised for good behavior. "My pleasure, Al!"

Two gunshots zipped past Al and into the head of the downed Alpha Creep. Everyone nearby turned to the soldier responsible, but he simply shrugged and said, "Just bein' thorough." The creature slowly dissolved.

Newt's section of the perimeter was lighter on enemies now, but they faced tougher Grimm. Three Alpha Creeps and an assortment of weaker Grimm remained. The two perimeter teams aside, there was a third line of defense at the far opposite end of the outskirts of Vale. There was no telling whether the group positioned there was dealing with a spike in Grimm activity, too.

"I'm going to go help them," Lace said, probably realizing the strategic advantage of clearing out an area at the same time Al did.

"I'll give ya a lift," Al offered, nodding toward his yo-yo.

She decided to accept, expanding her wings and jumping into the air. He twisted the smooth edges of his weapon away from one another to enlarge Rimorta, then tossed Lace the reel. Her fingers grasped the circular frame in midair just before he channeled aura through the reel, skyrocketing her toward Newt's side of the field. When Lace made it there, Al casually called the yo-yo back to his side. It arrived in time for him to reattach the rotating blades and face a couple more incoming Beowolves. He frowned when he spotted skeletal growths and armor on one of them that signified it was an Alpha. The leader was probably here to avenge its pack members.

"The new robot models we got aren't the best just yet," the soldier accompanying Al's side of the battle complained. "Good thing today's the day we have you kids out here to pick up the slack. They've missed a few kill shots."

Al smirked, finger hooked into the loop at the end of his yo-yo's reel and subtly twitching in excitement. "I won't."

He watched Newt tear through the remaining creeps with well-aimed shots, strafing away from attacks when necessary. Of course, other students helped to expose the enemies's weak spots, but he did most of the heavy lifting in his section. While still stationary, the Faunus boy effortlessly popped off a round behind his back, which bounced up at an angle and struck an Ursa that was attempting to sneak up on him under the chin. It fell, dead before ever realizing what occurred, and dissolved into the wind.

"Damn," was all Alabaster could get out.

"Yeah," the soldier behind him added. "Wow. Kid's a monster. They really know how to pick'em here in Vale."

A breeze whizzed through the trees, the area falling almost completely silent as the flow of Grimm began to slow. The last few eventually made it past a couple of Atlesian robots positioned farther out, and the students wearily threw themselves back into the fray. Lace carried several Grimm up and away using the harpoon cords on her bracelets, dropping them to their deaths, while Newt struck down any Nevermore brave enough to target her. Not to be outdone, Al slung his yo-yo into the air, ejecting his rotating blades to land them in the heads of an Ursa and three Beowolves in different locations on the field just as they were about to attack people. Several students and soldiers nodded their thanks.

"That's all of them, I think," said one of the soldiers as the two parties drew closer together to regroup. He then focused his efforts on trying to radio in to those at the other side of the perimeter.

Newt dusted off his pants and sighed. He was slightly winded, but almost no worse for wear. Al had to admit that Newt really was impressive, especially considering he never used his semblance. How much did it take to tire him out?

"Hey, guys!" Lace exclaimed, descending beside them with a smile unfitting for the battlefield. Her hair was a little unkempt now, and she was sweating, but she still looked as cheerful as ever.

'What a girl,' Al thought to himself. 'Nothing fazes her!'

"Status!" The soldier suddenly called out. He had finally gotten through to someone on the radio. "Come in, Crystal."

They all waited in silence. Some static and garbled language came from the other end. Eventually, intelligible words broke through the mess of noise as the static gradually died.

"We've cleared section one, sir."

"What?" The soldier said.

Whoever was talking sounded familiar to Al, but they certainly weren't a soldier. The boy speaking to them sounded young - more likely a student. He didn't respond this time, other than breathing heavily into the receiver.

"Where's Crystal?!" the soldier demanded.

"She's...been hit. We saved her, but there's still a…." The sound cut out a few times, then faded in again. Al now recognized the voice as Reed, the chill guy he'd met yesterday when he was walking around the orientation hall. "...most of the Grimm are dead here."

"Excellent. How'd you get her comms device, kid?"

"I just picked it up because your voice was coming through. She's too hurt to keep fighting, so we laid her down behind some rocks."

A deafening screech emitted from the radio, causing the soldier to drop his device in surprise. The students and fellow soldiers crowded around him stepped back, then all except Newt were sent flying by the triggering of his semblance. Al dug his katana into the ground for stability, and everyone else used their unique skills to either minimize damage or avoid falling altogether.

Al stood and looked up at Newt. When the young Faunus met Al's gaze, he instinctively turned away, nervously chuckling as he muttered, "S-sorry." Al gave him a thumbs up to show he wasn't bothered. The others realized the semblance was out of Newt's control, too, and quickly moved on. They were far more concerned with the origin of the sound on the radio.

"Reed?" Al asked, stepping forward to speak into the soldier's handheld device. "It's Alabaster. You all okay? What WAS that?!"

"Alabaster? Listen, you gotta…" Nothing. Then, another string of distorted language. "K-Kin...coming your way!"

Al raised an eyebrow. "Kin?" He shared a look with the soldier, who shook his head to indicat_e _he couldn't make sense of the message either.

A low rumbling in the distance was faint, but noticeable. Everyone sensed something ominous in store. They formed a circle, sweaty palms closing tightly around their weapons. Bushes and trees rustled, and then the field went dead quiet, setting a chilling atmosphere that made Al's hair stand on end. He ran through a million possible scenarios in his head. Just in case, he activated his semblance. Al immediately sighed with relief, pleased to detect no immediate danger. Still, something was out there.

The rumbling continued, shifting directions every few seconds. First it came from the south, then the southeast. Now it was approaching from the southwest. Why couldn't anyone sense the cause of the noise?

"It's below us!" the girl Al saved announced, prompting everyone to look down and scan their surroundings. Nothing, except the persistent rumbling noise.

That's when it hit him. Al thought back on Reed's words with dread. He didn't want to be right about this, but it was the most logical answer to what didn't come through in the last radio transmission.

"Hey, you guys. On the radio earlier, did he say...king?"

The earth violently ruptured at the center of their circular formation, sending everyone sprawling in different directions. Al was consumed by random spikes of pain as different body parts hit or scraped against the ground, his aura steadily whittling away while he tumbled across the grass. Finally, he hit a tree with an unceremonious thud.

He coughed, struggled to rise, and looked around at his comrades. They were covered in dirt and rubble, completely caught by surprise. All of them looked okay, but he couldn't be sure everyone was alive. Then his eyes rose to behold the terrible sight that he knew was awaiting him, but wanted desperately to be wrong about.

He wasn't.

"King," he whispered, his mouth going dry.

Just like Al predicted, "Kin" was actually the word "King." Reed had tried his best to warn their side, but to no avail. Time was up now. Stretching at least a dozen feet above the group, fangs bared and red eyes glowing with a fiery intensity, stood the elongated body of the fearsome Grimm known as the King Taijitu.


	6. Chapter 6

The air was still, rife with the chilling terror brought by the new enemy. While the creature towered over its would-be victims, preparing to strike, Al began planning how to take it down. There was no time to lose if they all wanted to survive. He gulped as he sized up the King Taijitu's massive tail, row after row of glossy dark scales bathed in moonlight. Another head rose from the gaping hole in the ground, revealing the second half of the Grimm's shared body. The new head boasted gleaming white scales. Both pairs of burning red eyes surveyed the scene, a low hiss echoing in the night sky. Its crown-like skeletal plating covering each head only made matters worse. The cracked, dented bone jutted out at unpredictable angles, framing the two heads in an unsettling testament to the monster's years of conquest.

Several students were back on their feet now, either assuming battle poses or freaking out. Al knew better than to fall in with the latter. His early years taught him the hard way that losing your cool got you killed. Granted, staying composed didn't guarantee survival, but it improved your chances.

Alabaster sprang into action, slinging his yo-yo above the trees. He listened to the whistle of the reel as it zipped through the air. The weapon did his bidding flawlessly, like it was an extension of himself. A light breeze produced by its spinning motion brushed against his face. Rimorta arced downward, narrowly passing over a tree branch and dipping between the creature's two heads. The branch held steady as Al's reel landed on it and then fell freely, digging a deep groove into the aged wood. Al waited for the right moment, carefully and deliberately adjusting his finger positioning as the yo-yo reached the end of the line. Once fully extended, it hung in the air for a brief moment, spinning in place.

Both heads turned to the unexpected object floating beside them in confusion. Al fired two shots that landed squarely in one of the eyes of each head. This elicited a harmonious, ear-rending shriek that forced the majority of the students to cover their ears.

"If you stay calm, it won't go for you," Al advised. "Divide and conquer, guys!"

He gasped, realizing the moment he spoke that Newt and Lace were already on the move. Newt had taken up a position to the left of the creature, and Lace was using her wings to fly higher.

"I'll attack from up here!" Lace shouted, rising above the darker head of the creature and pulling an unknown wooden item out of one of her pockets.

Below, Newt was spinning his dual guns in both hands with ease. He stopped, gripped them tightly, and let off two shots in opposite directions. The earth and fire dust bullets ricocheted against nearby trees, meeting in the space between the Grimm's heads and exploding into a cloud of smoke. Al whistled in appreciation. He had to give Newt credit for creativity.

Other students and soldiers were galvanized to action by Al and his friends. The girl Al saved ran toward the white snake, along with a few of her peers and some Atlesian soldiers and robots. The remainder of the group followed him to the side of the battlefield where Lace was swiftly dodging the black-scaled half of the Grimm as it thrashed around in a rage.

"Newt!" Al shouted. The Faunus boy turned toward him, and he hurried to fill Newt in on his hastily thrown together plan.

"That's some plan," Newt said afterward, shaking his head.

"As in that's some plan and I don't think I can swing it, or that's some plan that's crazy, but doable?"

Newt held up one of his revolvers. "I can do anything with these guns." He sounded so sure of this that Al didn't question the statement. Deciding to trust Newt, he returned his attention to the Grimm.

Lace dove toward the ground, then spun expertly between the mess of trees surrounding her and the King Taijitu. Although she made it look easy, the snake's slightly more precise movements betrayed the negative emotion Lace was giving off. Two trees splintered and nearly collapsed when tackled by the white snake head in an attempt to reach her. She narrowly avoiding being swallowed whole by the Grimm. Lace tossed the wooden item she held into the air. The small, drink coaster-sized object began to transform, decompressing and elongating to change shape entirely from flat and hexagonal to oblong and riddled with grooves and bumps.

"Where'd she get that thing from?" Al asked, watching her catch the item that was now a staff.

Her staff was encrusted with several multicolored gems. They were dust crystals, Alabaster realized upon closer inspection. How heavy had that deceptively small object in Lace's pocket been, and could she really carry it for so long without feeling worn out? Al turned to Newt, who shrugged, clearly just as surprised.

Lace brought the staff down hard on the head of the King Taijitu, successfully beating it back. Enraged, it rose from the ground and lunged for her again, only to find its neck caught in the tangled web of trees. She smiled. Al realized with amusement that her seemingly random flight pattern had a purpose. The trees would not give - the Grimm was trapped.

"Get ready," Al ordered.

Newt nodded, and Al rushed to Lace's aid amidst a flurry of gunfire from several students and Atlesian soldiers. Their shots barely fazed the white half of the King Taijitu - its focus was solely on Lace.

Several yards away, the girl Al rescued dropped out of the sky to crash into the dark-scaled snake head with a devastating punch. The skeletal crown atop its head cracked, but withstood the hit. Al realized that if even her strength had not broken through that armor, there was no way it would be easy to accomplish this with its other half. Fortunately, his plan would not have to change to get the results they needed.

Lace spun and smacked her enemy with the dense staff once more, careful not to stay in range of its fangs for too long. She paused when she noticed another cluster of Grimm moving in from afar. Al saw it, too. The King Taijitu must have called for backup when it first gave off a loud noise.

Knowing time was of the essence, Al hopped over one of the Atlesian robots firing on the Grimm, using its head as a stepping stone to jump even higher. He whipped out his katana mid-leap, switching it to double-edged mode with the unconscious press of a button. Dust was already loaded into its hidden compartment. He would have one chance at this, so he needed to make it count.

Just as planned, wind dust bullets from Newt's guns created a mini-tornado that boosted him upward, allowing for an unusually long hang time. He positioned the sword over his shoulder like a spear, prayed, and took the shot.

Lace noticed Al's incoming attack and gracefully floated out of range. An electric dust bullet - undoubtedly Newt's - immobilized the snake just before impact. Alabaster's katana struck the Grimm and passed clean through its head, armor and all. Stunned, and with little time to process what happened, the snake fell to the ground. Black smoke rose from its maimed head, a final tortured hiss echoing across the landscape.

"Yes!" Lace celebrated, painting figure eights in the sky as she twirled through the air.

"They need our help too," Al called out to her, pointing to another area of the battlefield.

Nodding in understanding, she yanked his weapon free from a tree and threw it down by his feet.

"On it," she said, saluting him.

Al had no idea how 'on it' Lace truly was until the spectacle that followed. The other half of the King Taijitu crushed two Atlesian robots like they were little more than children's toys, and was wearing down the remaining students and soldiers, whose attacks had little effect. Several of their auras broke as Alabaster ran toward their section alongside Newt. The creature rose to strike once more, threatening to wipe out its aura-depleted foes...

A blinding ray of multicolored light flashed, and a beam blasted the unsuspecting Grimm, penetrating the thick crown of armor and hitting it directly in the face. The Grimm crashed into a tree and dissolved, to the relief of many students and soldiers. Lace then turned her attention to the lesser Grimm approaching from the fringes of the border, mowing them down with ease. Her beam activated again, shredding through the collection of Creeps, Beowolves, and even a large, heavily armored Ursa in under three seconds. She returned the staff to compact mode and descended next to a speechless Alabaster and Newt.

"What?" She asked with a giggle. Al noted that she was sweating and slightly panting now, but pretended to be unfazed.

"Nothing, it's just…" He tried to find the right words, but gave up. "That was badass?"

Lace looked away uncharacteristically shyly, crossing her arms behind her back as her wings fluttered. "Aww, thank you!"

Al did not get the chance to reply before the two parties of students and soldiers converged and began frenzied conversation. Half of the group praised Alabaster, Newt, and Lace for acting so quickly, while everyone else frantically discussed the sudden surge of Grimm. In the middle of this chaos, Reed came running through the field from seemingly nowhere, along with several more people from the other perimeter watch party.

There was no way he could have made it so far in this amount of time! Al crinkled his brow.

"How are you here, Reed?!"

"Oh!" The short-haired brunette took a step back, caught his breath, and then explained. "I used my semblance and brought us here to back you guys up. I can, uh...fold space."

"Really?"

Reed nodded.

"Wow," Al said with a shake of his head. "And here I thought 'my' semblance was something worth ta-"

Newt made a circular motion with one of his guns, prompting the group to swivel around toward the treeline. "More company," he stated with an air of detached annoyance. Another wave of Grimm was closing in, albeit spread thinner than the preceding waves.

"I've radioed in for reinforcements," one of the Atlesian soldiers announced. "I had a feeling there'd be more Grimm where the other two batches came from…"

"Just what in the world is going on?!" one of the new students asked.

"Let's hope the professors make it in time," the soldier who radioed in said between labored breaths.

Those who could still fight charged into the fray, calling upon what little aura and morale they had left. Lace took to the skies to deal with two Nevermores, and Alabaster provided cover fire for Newt while he found a comfortable spot to pick off the Grimm one by one.

In the midst of the chaos, Al noticed a lone, dark figure standing behind enemy lines, watching the battle. Temporarily distracted, he turned to get a better look.

"Huh?" Al asked no one in particular.

Confusion washed over his Faunus friend's face when he bolted toward the mysterious figure, carving a path through the remainder of the Grimm with no explanation given.

Newt's footsteps trailed behind Al's as occasional dust bullets whizzed past, keeping his path clear of enemies. Alabaster never expected that Newt would blindly follow his lead, but he was grateful. He may not have known the guy for very long, but he already knew he'd make a great teammate.

They broke through the rapidly thinning line of Grimm and stood to face the cloaked figure. The stranger remained motionless. They wore all black, were eerily silent, and kept their face hidden. Alabaster guessed they were behind the spike in attacks, and the pumping of blood in his veins grew more pronounced, drowning out his surroundings. He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth at the newcomer.

"Who are you?! Are you doing this?" Al demanded, receiving no answer.

The stranger shifted slightly, putting the two students on edge. Alabaster's hand instinctively clutched Rimorta, and Newt snapped both guns together into a double-barreled weapon, keeping the stranger at the center of his line of sight. Al noticed that his hand was shaking, but could not blame him. He was scared, too. Something about this person, about their very presence, just felt...wrong.

"I asked you a question," Al pressed, summoning every ounce of willpower he could muster to prevent his voice from cracking as he spoke.

Still nothing.

"Answer us, or we'll shoot."

No response. Then, when Al was about to make a move, the person raised their head and revealed their face. Rather, they revealed the place where there should have been a face. All that greeted the boys was a skeletal mask. A bone-white mask with markings that pulsed like exposed veins. There was no mistaking it - this was a Grimm mask. The hooded cloak, it turned out, was not a cloak at all. Rather, this 'cloak' was the signature black skin of creatures of Grimm, and what looked like a hood was actually where the skin tapered around the monster's mask. Apart from this mask, no other location on the Grimm's body was protected by armor. That was all Alabaster needed to know.

"It's gonna attack," Newt warned, finger poised to squeeze the trigger.

"Not if we attack first," Alabaster countered, turning to his friend. "You ready?" Newt nodded.

"Not without me you're not!"

Lace landed on one knee beside them and rose to face the unknown threat. She smiled, holding up a thumbs up. "Whatever this thing is, let's take it down together!"

Alabaster smirked in spite of the rising tension. In spite of the chill that, only moments ago, reverberated down his spine. He had to admit, these two were the only students he'd met who were as "gung ho" as he was, or so his brother liked to call him. This next encounter would prove whether that made them stupid or brave. Ignoring the Atlesian soldiers' warnings to stay within the perimeter, they rushed in to engage the enemy. Al broke left, Newt dashed to the right, and Lace leapt into the air.

In this moment, Alabaster realized just how perfect their abilities were for covering almost all ranges. They each accounted for one another's weak points, like they were born to form a team. If he were lucky, the school would see that and make it official. However, if he remembered correctly, Huntsmen and Huntresses worked in teams of four.

'All we need now,' he thought to himself, 'is our number four."

The masked Grimm uttered a rumbling, guttural noise and moved to attack.


	7. Chapter 7

On the battlefield that was once the uneventful, grassy stretch of land marking Beacon's perimeter, students and soldiers alike waged war on the invading horde. Although they were gradually thinning in numbers, the Grimm still posed a significant threat. Making matters worse, many of the fighters had depleted their auras.

Alabaster rolled into place directly across from Newt, gripping his weapon firmly in anticipation of an attack from the abnormal-looking Grimm. The boys did not take their eyes off of the monster. Lace, who hovered several feet above, trained her clublike weapon on its head.

The Grimm stood tall, the glint of its white mask in the pale moonlight setting an eerie tone. Thick streams of dark miasma danced across pitch black skin. Skin that was currently unprotected, Al noted. Apart from its mask, the creature wore no additional armor. A deep rumbling came from its throat, putting the students on edge.

"Get ready," Al called out, to which Newt nodded and waved one of his guns.

"Yup!" Lace replied from above.

Sweat beaded on Alabaster's forehead. What 'was' this thing, and why hadn't it attacked them yet? Not that he wanted it to do so.

_Ting!_

A sharp clink of metal against bone rang out when one of Newt's shots struck the side of the Grimm's mask. The projectile ricocheted harmlessly off into the distance. The creature twitched, tilting its head sideways in a fluid, almost unnatural motion. Then it shifted its gaze toward Newt, silently processing what just happened.

"Damn it, Newt," Alabaster muttered under his breath, tightening his grip on Rimorta.

He looked down at the sleek green surface of the yo-yo, then examined the gun chambers in between each retracted blade. If a direct hit from Newt's long range attack hadn't accomplished much, Al reasoned, then maybe a more close range attack could do the trick. There was only one way to find out.

Taking a leap of faith, Alabaster extended the blades on Rimorta with a firm twist of the chassis, then hurled it at the strange Grimm. Its back was completely unprotected. The monster merely leaned to one side. Al's yo-yo zipped past its head. Newt gasped and dodged out of the line of fire just in time. All four blades extended from the main body in midair, digging a deep, messy trail in the dirt upon impact.

"I've got you!" Al shouted, retracting the reel.

Rimorta shot back toward him, its blades spinning like a razor. The Grimm crossed its sharp-edged arms together, the tough hide proving more than capable of resisting Rimorta's slicing motion. The blades spun wildly, locked in place against the Grimm's immovable body. Al sent aura through the yo-yo's reel, doggedly gripping it as he waited for the slightest advantage. Seconds passed like hours - the Grimm didn't give. Then, finally, it slid backwards an imperceptible distance, but enough for Al to feel the shift.

He grinned, but his smile vanished when the creature swiftly dropped to its knees, grinding Rimorta into the ground, and thus, yanking Al forward. The Grimm tugged violently on the reel, but Alabaster acted quickly, reeling himself in to maximize on the speed already gained by the Grimm's counterattack. He held out his katana, aiming it square at the center of the Grimm's back as he flew forward. In the same instant, Newt fired two rounds of earth dust bullets at the creature. However, the tables turned faster than Al could have anticipated.

Inches from being impaled by Al's weapon, the Grimm crouched and sprang upward, extending its legs behind it in midair. Al gasped, realizing he was about to pass right underneath the Grimm and straight into the path of Newt's gunfire. Out of the heavens came Lace, wings outstretched and staff activated. She skyrocketed downward, swinging the clublike object at the enemy with a fierce cry. The last thing Al saw before the battlefield went up in a cloud of dirt and dust was the humanoid Grimm rotating its body in midair, presumably in an attempt to dodge.

"Agh!" Al cried, shielding himself with an arm.

He sailed through the air and landed painfully amidst the shroud of dirt clouds. Somewhere nearby, he heard other bodies hitting the ground. Alabaster's ears rang, and his muscles were tense and exhausted. Aura or not, the fighting was starting to take its toll. It took a while before he had healed enough to stand and brush himself off. Once he did, a quick scan of the area revealed Lace kneeling on the ground next to the fractured earth where her attack landed, Newt approaching her from a short distance away, and the Grimm getting to its feet near the treeline.

"You two okay?" Al asked, retrieving his weapon before rushing to Lace and Newt's side.

"Y-yeah," Lace said, panting heavily and supporting herself with the staff. "I didn't get him this time, though."

Newt nodded in response to Al's question, then frowned after Lace spoke. "She tried, but I saw it avoid her at the last second. My bullets...hit her."

Lace turned to Newt and smiled. "Please, don't feel bad about that, Newt! I had my aura up, and I still have enough left for this fight."

Al suspected things were worse off for Lace than she let on, but did not call her bluff. All that mattered now was taking this thing out. The three students stared the mysterious hooded Grimm down. It rose, looked up at them, and then let off another chilling, distorted growl.

"How should we do this?" Newt asked, rolling his shoulders.

Lace stood up, then took a stance beside the two boys.

Al looked down at the ground, deep in thought, then returned his gaze to the unusual foe, blood pumping fiercely through his body. "I'll take point. You two, get ready to jump in."

Thankfully, the Grimm kept its distance and studied them, as well as the rest of the horde battling their allies nearby. This gave Al the time he needed to work out a plan with his friends. Now came the hardest part - execution.

"Newt, go!" Al shouted, dashing toward the Grimm with his sword drawn.

He closed in on the Grimm fairly quickly, and it made no move to defend or distance itself. Undeterred by its display of confidence, Al watched several rounds land in the grass around he and the Grimm's general area, as discussed. The mixture of regular bullets and dust bullets looked scarcely distinguishable from common dust rounds. That didn't matter, as long as they did the trick. The spots where Newt's ammo struck were producing small yellow clouds of dust, to Al's satisfaction.

Alabaster slid between the Grimm's legs, just shy of being stabbed by its sharp-edged, pointy appendages that served as arms. He rolled away from its next attempt at skewering him, then jabbed his katana into the dirt.

"_Now_, Lace!"

Lace descended from above on cue, wings at full span, and circled both Al and the Grimm. She generated a wind current that picked up with each rotation, forming a mini-twister of electric dust. Al flipped into a handstand, bending his legs backward just as the Grimm aimed its follow up attack at his lower body. If he had not done so, his legs may well have been cut too deeply to heal using aura. He breakdanced around its flurry of additional attacks, managing to land a few kicks before being roughly kicked across the grass.

Getting onto his feet again, Al slung his yo-yo toward a far off tree, wrapped its reel around the trunk, and zipped out of range. Lace finished her flight maneuver and signaled Al, who tossed Rimorta into the air above the Grimm. He yanked on the handle as hard as his body allowed, using aura to fuel the yo-yo's burst of speed down through the center of the dust tornado. The blades extending from the main body buzzed like a power saw, scraping violently against the grounded katana to produce a spark. One spark was all it took to ignite the electric dust vortex, causing the Grimm at its epicenter to shriek in pain. Newt's metal bullets at the edge of the tornado helped sustain its destructive magnitude. Al's sword sank deeper underground, propelled by the sheer force of the yo-yo's piledriver, creating a wide fissure.

The shock from the dust twister traveled back through the yo-yo to Al, lighting his senses up with a jarring jolt of pain. He went rigid, and Rimorta's handle fell from his grasp. Newt and Lace came to his aid, but he was too lightheaded to fully understand their words. When his vision cleared up, he was rendered speechless by what he saw.

"Are you okay?" Al heard Lace ask as his hearing stabilized.

"Alabaster?" Newt said.

Al simply nodded toward the tornado. The other two students turned their heads and gasped.

Standing before them was a slightly distorted version of their new foe. It stood outside of the boundary of the dwindling dust twister. The Grimm shifted in and out of a spectral form, eventually solidifying the top half of its body, while the bottom transformed into a black smoke cloud.

"Wait, I've read about abilities like this…" Lace said. "Is this a...Geist?"

"I-I don't know, honestly," Al admitted.

"No," Newt muttered. "They don't look like that." He glared at the creature, then charged in without warning.

"Newt, wait!" Alabaster cried, but it was too late.

Cursing under his breath, Al hurried after Newt. The gears turned madly in his head trying to think of a tactic that would keep them from all ending up dead.

Newt lunged for the Grimm, and it stabbed the air in front of it, realizing too late that he had fired the double-barrel form of his gun at the ground, blasting himself upward. He snapped the gun apart and flung one of the smaller guns above him before landing behind the enemy's back. He bent backward to avoid its next strike, then fired up at his abandoned gun. The shot hit square in the center of the airborne revolver's lens, ricocheting downward toward the Grimm. It looked up just in time for the shot to collide with its mask, freezing it over on contact.

The Grimm floated backward while making garbled, guttural noises. Newt wasted no time snatching his second gun out of the air, then ejecting the blades hidden inside the handle of both revolvers. The Grimm was still reeling from having its mask frozen. Newt took advantage of this opportunity by stabbing the iced-over mask with both blades. He grunted, tearing through the bone and leaving behind two long ripples that created even more, minor cracks around the affected area. The mask broke apart and fell away, causing the Grimm to cry out in fury.

Newt was only a breath away from the creature, and hence was unable to dodge a fanning slash from the sharp-edged arms. He gasped as the hit connected, knocking him backward and damaging his aura. Simultaneously, his sonic screech blasted the Grimm in the face, further disorienting it just in time for Al to rush in for the kill. This use of Newt's semblance drained what was left of his aura. Alabaster saw a wave of crackling energy wash over Newt to indicate this, but stayed focused on his next attack. He jumped toward the Grimm and let off a powerful downward stroke of his blade.

His sword passed through where the Grimm's shoulder should have been, and Al found himself surrounded by wisps of black smoke. They drifted apart and then joined together into a cloud several feet away from him. The cloud morphed into the shape of the Grimm's body and quickly solidified into its corporeal form.

Lace swooped in with a swing of her staff, only for the Grimm to shift back into its spectral form and float away again.

An Atlesian robot fired uselessly at the ghostly form. In response, the Grimm resolidified next to the robot, pierced it with both conical arms, and tore it in half.

"What the…?" Al said.

This moment was the first time that all three students could clearly see the face beneath the creature's destroyed mask. From somewhere inside the abyss of shadowy nothingness under its cloak, two glowing red eyes stared back at the students. Al's knees weakened instinctively, but he refused to falter, even as the monstrosity of a Grimm's eyes stared into his very soul.

Lace reached for her staff again, aiming it at the Grimm, but Al waved her off.

"No," he said, shaking his head, "you'll run out of aura if you try that beam attack again, won't you?"

She hesitated, then nodded with obvious reluctance.

"Then don't. Newt's vulnerable now. Best to have both of us to shield him."

What Al didn't voice was how hopeless this situation had started to feel. He knew that most of the soldiers and students were running on fumes at this point. If this Grimm didn't go down soon...well, he didn't want to think about that possibility.

"Cover me, guys," Al called out before slinging Rimorta around a tree, where it wrapped around the trunk and came hurtling toward the Grimm.

The creature growled, slashing the yo-yo to interrupt its motion. Rimorta fell onto the grass with a dull thump. Al sprinted toward the fissure he'd made earlier while the Grimm was distracted, snatching up his sword and tying Rimorta's reel around its hilt. He then looked to Newt and Lace, mouthing the word 'air.' They nodded, in sync with his unspoken strategy.

Newt fired wind dust at Al's feet, and Lace used her now-shrunken wings to whip up a stronger gust of wind than Newt's bullets could on their own. Al reeled himself in, boosted by the extra speed afforded by his teammates's assistance. He readied his sword and slid on his knees into the momentum, adjusting to put him on an arced path toward the Grimm. Dirt kicked up all around him, his shoes digging deep treads across the grassy field. Just before impact, he raised his sword swiftly, aiming to jab it through the Grimm's head. However, to Al's shock, he found he was paralyzed, his sword hovering just inches from the enemy's face. The pool of blackness and fierce red eyes under its hood eclipsed any sense of confidence he possessed before now.

Time seemed to slow down, the Grimm gazing coldly at its prey. Then a powerful burst blasted Al away, his hair whipped up into a frenzy. He lost his grip on his katana and landed flat on his back, winded and confused.

_Was that...wind dust?_

Alabaster struggled to his feet.

_No...that's not possible._

He regrouped with Lace and Newt, who looked just as wiped as he felt. In the distance, he saw that the other students had very nearly eradicated the rest of the horde. This new Grimm was in an entirely different class, and honestly, Al was overcome with a sense of dread. Winning seemed insanely far out of reach now.

The Grimm wailed and charged toward the three students. Sucking in a breath, Al prepared to intercept its path and sacrifice what little aura he had left. His body was shaking, filled with the numbing realization of their impending deaths. Still, he kept moving forward.

Just as he and the Grimm were set to clash, Lace dove in front of Alabaster, and was slammed into the ground with one of the Grimm's cone-shaped arms pressed against her stomach. She cried out, her wings vanished, and Al saw the slicer trembling as it struggled against her aura forcefield. Tiny sparks emanated from the spot where its arm dug into Lace. Any moment now, her aura was going to shatter. Making matters worse, Al noticed a stream of light traveling up the Grimm's arm, presumably through the small hole in the tip of the arm. Its purpose was now very clear: to absorb things.

"No!" Al shouted, but he was knocked across the grass before he could interrupt the attack.

Newt tripped over Al's body, and they laid in a tangled heap, each scrambling to hurry to Lace's aid. They rose just in time to see a hazy, brown cloud rising above the Grimm. The creature stopped focusing on Lace and looked upward. The cloud solidified into a large spike made of packed earth and stone, then free-fell onto the Grimm. It was blasted apart by the spike driven directly through its center mass, its body dissolving into the air. Meanwhile, Lace crawled backwards on her hands and searched for the source of the attack.

Across the field, a lone figure strode confidently toward their location. He was a fair-skinned and slender boy with short, dark hair and vibrant forest green eyes. His clothes looked much fancier than anything in Alabaster's wardrobe.

A T-shirt underneath a dark blue jacket made of some unknown, likely expensive fabric, and slick white pants that appeared to be of the same quality or better, adorned the newcomer's lean frame. His shoes were no less strikingly high-quality. In one hand, he grasped a cream-colored whistle, which he promptly stowed away.

"Hi," he said calmly, surveying the earthen spike's area of impact. He turned back to Al, Lace, and Newt with a wooden expression. "I'm Maverick. Sorry I'm late. I believe this is the class I was supposed to report to?"

The three of them stared at Maverick blankly, unsure what to say. Cutting the moment short, Lace looked toward the treeline and pointed.

"You guys!" Lace exclaimed. "Look!"

Their heads turned in unison.

"What?! How?" Newt asked, staring in disbelief.

Al groaned as he watched wisps of dark smoke collecting to form a shape that wobbled and writhed, finally morphing into the deadly Grimm.

"You've GOTTA be kidding me."

Once solid, the creature belted out a tortured shriek. A shriek that was full of raw power and emotion - pure anger. Its cry was interrupted by a sudden streak of fire that struck its back. It stumbled forward, smoke rising from the wound. A man emerged from within the forest, narrowly missing a sword slash aimed at the Grimm's neck. It kicked him aside and then fled to safety amongst the trees.

Al raised an eyebrow, watching the creature suddenly disappear behind the treeline and fade into the night. The remaining Grimm stopped fighting, sniffed at the air, and then turned tail and followed the humanoid Grimm.

"I'll kill you!" the new arrival screamed at his escaped target, his declaration echoing throughout the landscape.

No response came from within the forest. Only the dead silence of night greeted him.

When all of the Grimm cleared out, the entire perimeter party gathered near the unknown swordsman. He was dressed in little more than rags, and his sandals were frayed at the edges. Most kept their distance, but Maverick, followed by Newt, Lace, Alabaster, and a few Atlesian troops, all approached him, albeit with caution.

"Sir?" Maverick asked. "Excuse me, are you injured?"

"Who are _you_?" Lace cut in, eyes wide with curiosity.

Al stared off into the trees, unable to spot any of the Grimm. "What was that thing?"

The swordsman turned red in the face, his veins bulging as he gripped his sword tighter than necessary. The students and soldiers closest to him waited while he moderated his breathing, then opened his mouth to answer.

"That…" he seethed, his face contorting as he spoke,"was the abomination I'm going to kill. The Anorak."


	8. Chapter 8

A little girl stood idly on the path at the outskirts of a nearby village, staring at the greenery around her. Her older sister was only a few feet away, in the middle of a grassy field. Victoria monitored her younger sibling quietly, her long hair flowing in the breeze. Today was a nice day, so maybe she and her sister could afford to enjoy the fresh air, warm sunlight, and vibrant blue flowers blooming next to the paved path.

"Lace! Just a few more minutes, okay?"

The girl turned to her and nodded, humming as she shifted from foot to foot. It was funny how simply being around nature filled Lace with such joy. Victoria, by contrast, found herself unable to relax any time that they weren't within four walls. Sometimes not even then.

Lace stopped observing the flowers and skipped along, humming a tune. Victoria kept pace with her, hand on the hilt of a sword sheathed at her side. Several minutes of traveling this way yielded no surprise attacks or suspicious noises. Victoria allowed her mind to wander briefly, and she wondered whether the village was missing them yet. She needed to head back and help with the harvest as soon as Lace finished getting some fresh air. Taking a slow stroll further into the grassy field, she left Lace standing by the bird feeder post the Village Elder claimed had been here since Root was founded.

A lone bird sat at the feeder, oblivious to how enthralled Lace was by its presence. Her exclamations of awe had no effect on the creature, which was solely consumed by a longing for the food its beak struggled to get at through a tiny hole. Victoria turned away, deep thought. Given that she could find nothing better to do with the time, she decided to practice sword stances. Her sword flashed a glaring stream of reflected light against the serene backdrop of the plains.

"Hi there!" Lace's soft voice said, snapping Victoria back into focus. "Are you lost?"

Victoria stole a quick glance back at her sister, and exhaled audibly when she saw a person in a hooded jacket standing beside her. Their arm was outstretched toward the birdhouse. This was no cause to completely drop her guard, as the person was still a stranger, but even a total stranger beat the more dangerous alternative. Victoria strode toward them, waving her free hand, while the other never left her hilt. A bird took the liberty of alighting on the stranger's extended arm.

"Excuse me," she called out to the newcomer. They froze, but said nothing. "Are you from Root?"

Again, there was no answer.

"Identify yourself, or I'll use force!"

Although her voice was small, Victoria's tone made it clear that she meant what she said. Her blade was already drawn and pointed toward the person's back. A chilling silence filled the air. Lace glanced nervously at her sister, eyes shimmering and full of fear and uncertainty.

"Sis, are you okay?"

Victoria briefly looked over at Lace, who nodded, then inhaled and looked up at the stranger to her right. The look wasn't one of fear; instead, more like curiosity. She was wide-eyed and open-mouthed, and had a faint twinkle in her eye. The kind every kid has when she sees something she's fascinated by - easy enough to spot, since just a few years ago, Victoria was Lace's age.

"It likes you, Mister," Lace commented, her eyes glued to the bird positioned on the stranger's shoulder. She giggled. "Where did you get those clothes? You dress funny."

Victoria didn't hear anything, but Lace seemed to be content without a response. She smiled and looked down at the blue flowers. The stranger, who Victoria now concluded was a man, did the same. Being too far out of range to hear anything wasn't making her feel all that great about the situation. So she trudged uphill, flinging her sword out at her side and holding it there. She looked down at the carefully carved wood that curved in fancy patterns on its hilt, then split the middle of the blade, giving way to a narrow strip of earth dust.

"Lace…" Victoria began, prepared to take on the stranger who was three times her size. His coal-black one-piece hoodie obscured his face from view.

"You know, back at Root, our village, there's lots of pretty flowers like this!" Lace said. "Maybe the elder would let you come see-"

Victoria held the blade just above eye level against the man's spine. Lace went silent.

"You're not welcome here," Victoria said. "Leave my sister alone."

"Vicky! You'll scare him."

The bird on the stranger's arm flew off, spooked by Lace's shout. Victoria sighed. She lowered her weapon. "Tell us who you are or leave. Now."

The stranger slowly turned, allowing Victoria to get the first view of his face. Or so she thought.

The edge of his hood shifted, and glare from the sun reflected off of something behind it, blinding her. Once the hood was completely turned in her direction, and the stranger tilted his head upward, allowing sunlight to hit it directly, she could see clearly - and felt her muscles tense up at the sight. She gripped her sword tightly, now on high alert.

"Lace, get away from it!"

A white mask with glowing red markings and two matching red eyes stared coldly at her. The creature swiveled around to focus on Lace, who shrieked and fell backward.

Victoria's heart beat so fast, she feared it might jump right out of her chest. The _stranger_ was one of the monsters she was trained to kill. A Grimm. Even at her age, she knew it was dangerous. The thing only looked human. There was no way she could let it hurt her sister. She had to stop it here.

Her little sister was petrified, and did not notice that the sword Victoria held now buzzed with energy. Victoria took a stance behind the enemy and released the power of her blade. Many branches exploded like a spiderweb from the earth dust portion of the weapon, converging on the Grimm.

On a quiet night in her Beacon dorm room, Lace shot upright in bed, covered in cold sweat. She fought to control her ragged breathing, so as not to wake anyone else. Eventually, she calmed down.

"Hey, you okay?" Alabaster whispered just as Lace was about to relax onto her pillow again.

"Oh! You're awake," she said in a higher pitch than intended.

Alabaster was laying on his side, supported by one elbow as he stared across the room at her. His blond hair was messier than usual, and it was difficult for Lace to see him in the dark. Her eyes adjusted as he spoke.

"Yeah. Heard you tossing and turning."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake y-"

"No, no. It's fine. I promise. So, what's up?"

"Just a bad dream." Lace curled her legs up against her chest and hugged them, feeling Al's eyes on her in the dark.

"Ah, that's the worst. You get eaten by a Grimm or something?"

"What?!" she asked hoarsely, swiveling to look at him. "No, nothing like that. I mean, not exactly."

"Wait, that's not a thing? Happens to me all the time. Guess I'm more of a weirdo than I thought."

She locked eyes with him now that her vision had adjusted, and registered his barely visible cheeky grin. Shaking her head when she realized he was joking, Lace turned and threw her bedsheets over herself once again. "Sorry about that, but I'm alright. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"It's not like I planned on paying attention in class tomorrow anyway." He chuckled. "I'd rather stay up and hang with you."

Lace laughed weakly, doing her best not to wake the remaining two members of their team.

"Are you really trying to fail your classes already, in the first week, Al?"

She turned over and gave him a small smile, that being all she could manage right now.

"Is there a timeline for this sort of thing? I didn't realize there was etiquette involved in blowing off your responsibilities. Shame on me, then."

Alabaster winked. Lace couldn't help but laugh, giving in to his charm. She made sure to cover her mouth and stifle the noise.

"Seriously, though," Al said softly, "if you need someone to listen, we can talk about it any time. Night, Lace."

"Thank you, Al." She smiled more warmly this time, finding that the gesture came very easily to her now. "Good night."

He gave her a two-fingered salute and then got back under the covers. Silence fell over the room. Lace wondered what Al must be thinking, and what he felt after seeing such a different side of her. Try as she might, she still couldn't understand why it mattered so much what he thought of her, but her self-consciousness persisted.

"You know," a voice said dryly, "you two aren't nearly as _quiet_ as you think you are."

Lace glanced toward Newt's corner of the room, where the voice had come from, and smiled in spite of herself.

"Sorry, Newt," she and Alabaster whispered in sync.

Lace gave in to the drowsiness relentlessly trying to force her eyelids shut, knowing that when she woke, it would be time for Team Manila's first class at Beacon. She couldn't wait to see what the future held.

Day broke and sunlight spilled into the room through the window, rousing Lace from slumber. She woke to find Newt already up, polishing his guns in the far corner of the room. Maverick was not in his bed, so she assumed he must be behind the locked bathroom door. Alabaster was still sprawled across his bed, arms and legs resting in unnatural-looking positions. Lace wondered how he could actually sleep comfortably that way. She giggled at his childlike state, noting that he looked so at peace. Newt waved his good morning when he overheard her.

"Morning," she whispered, easing out of bed in an effort not to wake Alabaster.

Newt nodded toward the calendar on the back wall, where someone had penciled in the team's class schedule. Lace grabbed two hair bands from the dresser by her bed and began fashioning her hair into pigtails as she walked over to read the writing. When she finished, as if on cue, Maverick emerged from the bathroom. Steam billowed out of it behind him. He wore a towel across his lower body and was in the middle of brushing his teeth. Although they had spoken for a short time following the incident near Beacon's perimeter, this was her first real, close-up look at him without others involved since the moment they met.

"Oh, good morning." She flashed a smile that she hoped could break the ice.

"Hi," Maverick replied with an air of stoicism, temporarily removing his toothbrush. "I see you're up now, too."

"Yep," Lace said, "but you two have me beat by a ton."

The three teammates paused and glanced in unison at their sleeping fourth member, who had just snored loudly all of a sudden. Lace looked at Newt, then back to Maverick, and laughed.

"Should we wake him?" Newt asked.

Maverick checked his wristwatch and shrugged. "We can give him 5 more minutes. Do either of you need the shower?"

Lace raised a finger and rushed to grab her clothes.

"Knock yourself out. I am just about done." He returned to the sink, finishing up there while Lace gathered her things.

* * *

Later, Lace stood observing herself in the mirror, finally dry from the shower and giving her new Beacon uniform a closer look. She would definitely be making some creative changes to it once she could get her hands on a new sewing needle - she'd lost hers during the packing process. She also needed to break out her bedazzling kit soon. However, for now, she decided to settle for placing a few decorative pins on the uniform. Newt walked in as she was applying the pins and washed his face in the sink beside her.

"What's that symbol mean?" Newt asked, pointing toward the mirror. "I was wondering earlier. Is it your...your emblem?"

Lace shifted her gaze to Newt, wondering what he could be talking about. Then she turned back to the mirror and froze as her eyes fell on the upside-down teardrop tattoo on her cheek. She was so used to it that she'd almost forgotten it was there.

"Oh, this?" Lace stammered. "It's nothing."

She fell silent, then grabbed her makeup kit and busied herself looking through it. This successfully warded Newt's curiosity off. Lace sighed, secretly glad to see him leave the bathroom. Still, he stole another quick look back at her as he went. She had no doubt he was staring at the tattoo.

Like him, she gave the mark one last careful examination, and it was all she could do to hold back tears. Lace sucked in a breath, and in an instant, she was fine again. Because that's what she always had to be. Especially now. She had classes to attend.


End file.
